has proven a real hit in this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and now a pal of the former rugby player has revealed his reasons for signing up.
The sports star entered the camp alongside the likes of , , and two weeks ago, as I’m A Celebrity returned to Australia for the first time since the pandemic hit.
Mike – who married Zara Phillips in 2011 – became the first royal to appear on the show, and he’s taken jungle life in his stride and nailed his Bushtucker trials.
Television star and Mike’s friend Alex Payne – with whom he hosts The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast – has shared his reasons for saying yes to I’m A Celebrity.
The sports presenter says the last two years have been tough for people like Mike who work in entertainment or hospitality, industries which shut down at the height of the pandemic.
With Mike earning most of his cash from public speaking events and as a guest at dinner parties, the earnings dipped when Covid-19 restrictions came into place.
Alex told : ‘It’s not like he’s sitting there in a pile of money. He’s a guy who’s in the public eye and that’s where he earns his money.’
‘Mike’s primary source of income is public speaking, and he goes out and does dinners.
‘He’s on the sporting circuit but it’s worth remembering that the last two years haven’t been pretty much a day’s work for people in that sort of industry, entertainment and hospitality industry.’
Alex also insisted Mike – whose wife is 20th in line to the throne – never would have agreed to do the show if he thought it would be an issue within the Royal Family.
‘He wouldn’t be doing it if it was a problem, I know that much,’ Alex added.
Viewers have well and truly taken Mike to their hearts over recent weeks and have loved watching him tackle whatever gross trials thrown his way, whether it’s involved drinking blended pig’s penis or being covered in green ants.
Ahead of the second elimination, which saw Scarlette Douglas leave the camp, Mike and the rest of the celebs received their letters from home.
The emotional moment saw the camp after no contact for over 14 days.
Of course, Mike’s letter was from Zara, who shared a lovely update on their children.
Filling Mike in on what he’s been missing, she added: ‘The girls are enjoying sports and throwing themselves into everything at the moment and the little man is loving life, smashing it up, learning some new words.’
She signed off her letter: ‘Z, M, L and L. x’
Mike and Zara – who married in 2011 – share three children: Mia, eight, Lena, four and Lucas, aged one.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues tonight at 9:15pm on ITV.
